In the mountains of Guatemala, in a small Mayan village called Xepatan, is a house. A newly constructed house that sits in stark contrast to the cane and dirt floor homes found throughout the rest of this farming town. This house was built by volunteers from Constru Casa — a nonprofit organization that works to […]

Jolinda Conzemius has known for years that at some point, she’d need a kidney transplant. “I’ve known this was my fate since I was about 12 years old,” she told WCCO-TV’s “Life to the Max TV” back in 2014. That’s because Jolinda inherited a genetic kidney disorder that has been in her family for generations. […]

Lori McMillan Depauw and her sister, Mary McMillan Rivera, see themselves as “complete opposites,” Lori tells WTVO-TV in Rockford, Illinois. But as of last month, they have a little more in common: Lori has one of Mary’s kidneys. According to the station, the two sisters enjoy a “smile over the fact that it was Mary who […]

What kind of anniversary does a 2-year-old have to celebrate? If you’re Addie Sylvester, you have a transplantaversary. (Yup, that’s a thing.) And Addie recently celebrated hers with the Mayo Clinic transplant team and donor (also known as Mom) that made it all possible. It was a milestone the Sylvesters weren’t always sure they’d reach.

Those of us who call Rochester, Minnesota, home like to joke about its landmark corn-cob water tower and say we’d like to leave in the winter, but our cars won’t start. But it’s no secret that the city is known more as a medical destination than a place to find frozen vegetables. And it’s hard […]

Little Boo has been accumulating fans since he came to Mayo Clinic in 2013. And last week, he went a little Hollywood. Robert Maddox, affectionately known as Little Boo, came to Rochester after spending nearly 500 days, and two birthdays, in a New Orleans hospital battling the H1N1 virus. Some of his organs had shut down, but […]